Disability ScoopAn influential U.S. senator is urging his colleagues to work toward plugging a special education funding shortfall of more than $17 billion. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is calling for the federal government to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. "For far too long, federal funding for special educational services has fallen short by tens of billions of dollars," Schumer said. READ MORE

By: Howard Margolis Do teachers and tutors quickly and accurately know whether their struggling learners are sufficiently benefiting from their academic program? And if the benefit is meager — or far exceeds expectations — do they adjust the ineffective program to meet the needs of struggling learners? From the hundreds of programs I've observed over decades of evaluating struggling learners' needs and programs, the answers vary.READ MORE

Center for American ProgressOne of the most enduring and contentious debates in education circles concerns the best way to hold schools and districts accountable for improving outcomes for students and closing achievement gaps. Lawmakers, teachers, district administrators, parents, and other stakeholders — all with strong and differing opinions — have wrestled for decades with questions about the appropriate role of the federal government compared with that of states and school districts in the operation of schools and the measurement of their success. Over the past 15 years, however, a national consensus slowly has emerged among the disparate parties and coalesced into a clear movement toward more sophisticated accountability systems and fewer federal mandates.READ MORE

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In an effort to enhance the overall content of THE LD SOURCE, we'd like to include peer-written articles in future editions. As a member of LDA and/or reader of THE LD SOURCE, your knowledge of learning disabilities and related issues lends itself to unprecedented expertise. And we're hoping you'll share this expertise with your peers through well-written commentary. Because of the digital format, there's no word or graphical limit. Our group of talented editors can help with final edits. If you're interested in participating, please contact Ronnie Richard to discuss logistics.

ADDitude MagazineMath is everywhere — some might even say it's inescapable. And we're not just talking about those ubiquitous addition and subtraction worksheets. Math is at the grocery store, in your cupcake recipe, and powering those baseball stats. Summer is a great time to demonstrate how math relates to the real world, so use these ideas to keep your child learning.READ MORE

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The Dallas Morning NewsBrooklyn Petersen loves to read. Dyslexia used to get in the way. Reading out loud in class used to be difficult. "I felt like, 'What is happening?' Because all the other kids were so good at reading," said Brooklyn, a fourth-grader at Bowie Elementary in the Richardson Independent School District. According to the Texas Education Agency, more than 140,000 students were identified with dyslexia this school year. That means Texas school districts and charter schools have reported a nearly 30 percent increase in students with dyslexia since 2013, when a state law began requiring them to report the figures.READ MORE

Disability ScoopWith an eye toward increasing the number of school professionals prepared to serve kids with disabilities, federal officials are doling out millions of dollars to enhance training programs. The U.S. Department of Education said this week that it will distribute $13.4 million in grants to colleges and universities across the country to beef up special education training. Of the grants, $4.1 million will go toward helping places of higher learning prepare doctoral students to take on administrator and faculty positions in special education, early intervention and related services, the Education Department said.READ MORE

THE JournalTraditional student desks and chairs are a relic of the 19th and 20th centuries. The 21st century classroom, with its 1-to-1 ratio of devices to students and emphasis on collaboration and communication, demands classroom furniture that is mobile and device-friendly. Some schools have replaced their traditional classroom furniture with tables and chairs on wheels to facilitate flexibility and quick transitions between individual, small group and large group activities. Others have implemented soft seating such as sofas and easy chairs with computing surfaces built into the armrests to improve student comfort.READ MORE

eSchool NewsEnsuring equal access to resources can help improve educational outcomes and close achievement gaps for children from low-income families, according to a new study. The study from the Educational Testing Service notes that improving state finance systems can go a long way to support equitable funding and increased resource access. The report, "Mind the Gap: 20 Years of Progress and Retrenchment in School Funding, Staffing Resources & Achievement Gaps," was commissioned by ETS and written by Bruce D. Baker, Rutgers University and Danielle Farrie and David G. Sciarra of the Education Law Center of New Jersey.READ MORE

The Atlantic (commentary)Lara N. Dotson-Renta, a contributor for The Atlantic, writes: "One of my children is spinning in a circle, creating a narrative about a princess as she twirls. The other is building a rocket ship out of a discarded box, attaching propellers made of cardboard and jumping in and out of her makeshift launcher. It is a snow day, and I've decided to let them design their own activities as I clean up and prepare a meal. My toddler becomes the spinning princess, imagining her character's feelings and reactions. What seems like a simple story involves sequencing, character development, and empathy for the brave princess stuck in her tower."READ MORE

The AtlanticA research team in Chicago has spent a year studying whether students who are taught to be in touch with their emotions do better academically. And they say the initial results are promising. Perhaps counterintuitively, when kids take a break from a classroom lesson on the solar system to spend a quiet moment alone watching a three-minute nature video, or participate in a teacher-guided breathing exercise with their class after lunch, they seem to become better overall students. READ MORE

MindShiftJennifer Tammi teaches U.S. History to tenth graders at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in the Bronx. A few years ago, she took on an additional role, one with a long-lasting, school-wide impact: she led a task force to study academic dishonesty and to come up with a new way of countering it. Fallout from a cheating incident at school set the task force in motion. A student had been reprimanded for plagiarism, and the student's parents had rebelled at the school's punishment. At the time, Fieldston imposed a tough three-strikes policy: the first offense resulted in an automatic zero on the assignment combined with a letter of reprimand from the dean, with progressive penalties for further offenses, and ending in expulsion. READ MORE

Education WeekBrand identity is carefully designed to make us feel better, so we drive Brand X or drink Beverage Y. Quick, check the tag on the back of your shirt or the brand of your shoes. Premium labels suggest quality to the user. Unfortunately, a poorly applied brand or label can have just the opposite effect in education. Special education learners don't always feel special, gifted learners don't always feel like they belong, and oddly, we don't celebrate that English language learners have already mastered another "foreign" language.READ MORE